


Healthy work/life balance.

by virginie



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 11:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8889862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virginie/pseuds/virginie
Summary: This was unexpected.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RevMarsh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RevMarsh/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, RevMarsh. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy it too :)
> 
> With a big thank you to Aurilly for the incredibly helpful close-to-the-end beta. Any problems since are on me.
> 
> This story is set in summer, not long after the end of season 3.

**** 2am on a hot, sticky night. The white glow of Gilfoyle’s twitter feed next to the black screen he favored for coding was an irritant. He closed the tab. The internet was eating itself over some outrage, no need to watch. 

Fuck it. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out to the pool. He kicked off his sneakers, rolled up his jeans, dangled his legs in the water and took a long swig.

Yawning, he lay back on the paving stones, still warm from the sun. Above him a light on the eaves of the house was flickering, giving off a faint metallic hum. As if submitting to his desire, the light buzzed loudly for a second, and then the bulb died with a fading glow.

Farther up the light of a single star had fought its way through the fog of light pollution to glow dimly in the murky black. A satellite spun a path overhead and an enthusiastic little app he never got round to deleting trilled in his pocket to let him know.

He closed his eyes and let his mind sink back into lines of code. 

“What are you doing out here so late?” came a solicitous voice from the open door. 

Jared. Gilfoyle could sense him hesitating on the threshold. 

After a minute he came a few steps closer across the paving to the concrete lip of the pool. “Would you mind if I joined you?”

“Do whatever you want, Jared.” 

“I will. Thank you.” 

Jared settled down next to him. After a few quiet moments Gilfoyle could hear the sound of shoes and socks being carefully removed. The sound of fabric being rolled up legs. He could imagine an irritating grin on Jared’s face. And then the slide of Jared’s legs beside his in the pool, making the water lap colder swirls against his calves.

He sat up and took another swig of beer. The label was turning wet under his hand. He rolled it against his forehead and lay down again. 

Eyes open he could see his lines of code spooling across the sky. Solid, controlled, predictable. He closed his eyes again, letting his hand dangle so the beer tilted towards Jared.

He heard fabric brushing over skin and opened his eyes to see Jared’s arms reaching overhead to pull his shirt off. He folded it and laid it on his shoes, the curve of his back shiny with sweat. Then he stood up, unbuckled his belt and slid down his pants and boxers. Coiled and folded, they joined the pile.

Jared loomed above him for a moment, then he stepped forward out of Gilfoyle’s view and slid into the pool with barely a splash. 

Gilfoyle felt frozen with shock. He lay on the ground, staring upwards, hopelessly aware of the neat pile of clothes beside him.

Time slowed until he heard Jared break the surface on the other side of the pool. The physical distance Jared had put between them eased his tension, and Gilfoyle sat up again. He drained his beer and carefully touched the bottle down on the concrete, holding it steady so as to not make a sound. He looked at it, as if intrigued, which stopped him from staring at Jared.

He could feel Jared looking at him though, his shoulders shiny above the surface of the water. Keeping his mind carefully blank, Gilfoyle peeled off his own t-shirt in the smallest number of movements possible.

“It is pretty hot,” said Jared from the pool, kindly. “It’s a good idea to bring your body temperature down.”

Gilfoyle made the mistake of catching Jared’s eyes. He was smiling sincerely.

“Jared.”

“Yes?”

“I want to wipe that sycophantic smile off your face.”

Jared did stop smiling then, Gilfoyle noted. His face seemed to slacken. 

While he had the advantage, Gilfoyle pulled his phone from his pocket and put it into one of his sneakers. Then he stood up and pushed his jeans and boxers down all in one. He kicked them to the side.

Instead of jumping in, he sat down on the edge, removed his glasses with both hands the way he always did, and then slipped unhurried into the water.

He let himself sink to the bottom of the pool, the cooling rush welcome over his head. He stayed down as long as he could, opening his eyes to see the dark blur of Jared’s body against the other side. 

This was unexpected. 

 

 

“We need to focus on Android.”

“Richard, we’ve talked about this already,” said Jared.

“I mean—” Richard scrolled on his screen, “Here’s a typical review. ‘This app sux. Wouldn’t use if it came in a cock strap.’ One star. They’re all like that.”

Gilfoyle glanced at Dinesh to make sure he was paying attention. He’d been the last one to work on the live build. This could be entertaining. 

“We’ve got fewer Android users than any other platform,” argued Jared. “What we _need_ to do is upgrade to Swift 3 for iOS—we’ll get all the benefits of Conch 2.0—allowing us to marginally improve the experience for iOS users who actually talk about us on social media! Sometimes positively!” 

Gilfoyle raised an eyebrow at Dinesh. For Jared, this was tantamount to shouting. Dinesh grinned back, clearly forgetting he’d been the last developer to touch Android. 

Richard was still looking glumly at his phone. “ ‘This app is literally the worst app EVAH. If you made this app you deserve to die.’ Two stars.”

“Well, two stars, that’s pretty good,” said Jared with a smile.

“Two stars is ‘pretty good’ if you have no goals in life other than mediocrity and to be swiftly forgotten,” said Gilfoyle, looking up from his screen.

“I think that’s a little harsh, Gilfoyle” said Jared, glancing at him before turning back to Richard, his eyes full of concern for Richard’s hurt feelings. 

“We’re not doing ourselves any favors by not fixing Android, Jared!!” said Richard, not giving up. 

“We _will_ fix Android. Right after we upgrade iOS and finish this round of QA for the web app. Iterate fast and often, add new features, move it, improve it—remember?” replied Jared, waving his hands around. “Web is the star in our firmament, Richard, and we’re neglecting it—we’re three days behind our release schedule. And more pressing _still_ than Android is the testing problem. We need to outsource.”

“We’ve already outsourced!” Richard said in the weird whisper-shout he used when he was on the verge of vomiting. 

This was getting good. Gilfoyle gave up trying to work. He saw Dinesh had slightly raised his phone and aimed it at Jared and Richard. If Pied Piper ever achieved any kind of break-through popularity Dinesh was going to have a folder of useful material. Good thing he maintained a back door into Dinesh’s computer. 

“We need to outsource again,” said Jared calmly. “Jenni and Rajiv are being crushed under the onslaught. Jenni looked desperately tired last time I spoke to her, and working for us is cutting into her precious time with her husband. She’s been pulling 12 hour days, as has Rajiv. It’s not good enough—there’s more work than two people can handle and still maintain healthy work/life balances.”

Gilfoyle found himself wondering if Jared had a crush on Jenni. It would be fruitless as she lived in Sri Lanka—and was married—but great for his daily Jared-trolling quota. 

“We need at least one more tester across all three platforms,” finished Jared, getting to the point. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Richard groaned. “That doesn’t change the fact we need to fix Android.” He scrolled again. “‘Biggest disappointment since Google Wave.’ No stars.”

“That hurts,” said Gilfoyle. “Dinesh, I guess you really fucked Android. 

Dinesh dropped his phone and spun around. “You fucker! It was your dick-move to suggest we rolled out to Android so soon. I’m only responsible for the latest bug fix build! I didn’t have time to un-fuck all that shitty code!”

Gilfoyle just stared at him and slowly, deliberately, drained his beer.

 

 

Gilfoyle’s couldn’t see well without his glasses, but his skin prickled with the feel of Jared’s gaze. 

“What are you doing?” he said in a close-to-normal voice, suddenly aware that if one of the others was awake and standing in the kitchen they would probably hear. 

“Well,” Jared said slowly, “It’s hot. I’m awake at 2am. I want a swim.”

“So do I,” said Gilfoyle. 

Jared moved his arms around slowly in the water.

“I like the way you look,” said Jared. 

Gilfoyle felt the skin on his chest tighten, his hands flex involuntarily. 

Jared came closer, gliding through the water towards him.

He stopped a few feet away, where Gilfoyle could see him clearly, sleek and pale in the water, his hair plastered wetly to his skull. He wore his sincere smile but his eyes were hard to read. They moved over Gilfoyle's chest and arms. 

Gilfoyle felt exposed and needy. At some point he seemed to have ceded control. 

 

 

“What about _our_ healthy work/life balances?” said Dinesh. 

“Good point, Dinesh,” said Gilfoyle. 

Jared looked interested. “I confess, I hadn’t considered either of you in the light of requiring a better work/life balance. Do you feel I’ve been remiss?”

“More than remiss,” said Gilfoyle. “This is an HR violation. I’ve barely seen Tara, my parents, or been to a Black Mass since I’ve been at Pied Piper.”

“Tara dumped you, you hate your parents—who live in Canada anyway—and you went to a weird ritual for Satan-nerds last week,” said Dinesh.

“I’ll thank you to speak respectfully of the Church, Dinesh. And finally, Jared, working till 2am every night takes a toll on my social life.”

“How can it? You only start at 4pm. And you hate people!” said Dinesh.

Jared’s face was a combination of stricken and excited. Gilfoyle kicked Dinesh under the table to get him to shut up. 

“I’d be happy to discuss the issue of work/life balance with both of you in my capacity as human resources manager,” Jared said. “If you’ll allow me to switch hats.” Jared closed his eyes for a moment, and then reopened them, looking seriously at Dinesh and then Gilfoyle. 

“Richard, could you give us some privacy please? Or would you prefer us to go out to the pool?”

“Whatever. I’ve got a bug fix,” said Richard, already halfway back to the couch. 

Jared drew a chair up to the central desk. “Could you join us, Gilfoyle?”

Gilfoyle swiveled and rolled under the table to face him. 

“I’m thinking of a quid pro quo,” said Jared seriously. 

“Interesting,” said Dinesh. 

“I'll be the judge of that,” said Gilfoyle. 

Jared glanced between them. “You both already have what many employees would consider a lot of freedom. You gained 2.5% ownership of Pied Piper each in the Bachmanity buy out, so, in fact, you’re working for yourselves. You have no set hours, you design our release targets, you’re both CTOs without any of the politics. So what would a better/work life balance mean to you? Dinesh?”

“Frankly, a girlfriend would nail it,” said Dinesh. 

Jared swelled with pleasure. “If you’d allow me the honor, I could help you with that,” he said. “You’re an intelligent, attractive man, Dinesh. It shouldn’t be difficult.”

Gilfoyle snorted. 

“Fuck off, Gilfoyle. Jared, having seen you in action I would be cautiously willing to accept your help, however little I need it—given my Pakistani-Denzel vibe.” 

Jared smiled warmly at him. “When would you like to start?”

“As soon as possible.”  


Jared mused for a minute. “For this to be effective we need to take it slowly. First I’m going to teach you how to relate to women. There’s a startup meet-up tonight. We’ll go, initiate conversations and begin to get to know several women, aiming to establish a base of mutual respect that could be built into a friendship.” 

Dinesh was nodding. 

“Friendship would be the ideal first goal. Once you’ve learned to make and sustain friendships with women you’ll be well on your way to an intimate relationship. And a better work/life balance.” 

“Getting me a girlfriend is stage two though, right?”

“If things proceed happily and respectfully during stage one.”

“I’m in.”

Jared reached out and squeezed Dinesh’s shoulder. “This could be the start of something beautiful, Dinesh.”

Dinesh smirked at Gilfoyle. 

“What about you, Gilfoyle?” asked Jared.  


“I want to know what’s in it for you,” said Gilfoyle. 

“Ah. That may not come as a surprise. The TP system.”

“No.”

“It would make all our lives easier, especially Jenni’s and Rajiv’s.”

“No,” they both said in unison. 

“It’s backward of you both to resist this.”

“If we start with TP we might as well give up and die right here, right now, in a pile of mediocre ‘agile’ shit,” said Gilfoyle. 

“Post-it notes don’t work now half the team is remote. We’re having constant miscommunications,” said Jared reasonably.

“It’s a deal breaker for me.” said Gilfoyle. “I’d rather sell my shares.”

“Well,” said Jared sadly. “We seem to have reached an impasse. I respect you for having the courage of your convictions.” He stood up, glancing at Dinesh. “No matter the personal cost.”

Gilfoyle watched as Jared left the room. 

“Gilfoyle,” said Dinesh. “Jared fucks. You know it, I know it. A bunch of awesome women who are way too hot for him know it. I can’t let this opportunity pass.”

Jared paused beyond the doorway, looking back at Gilfoyle.

“I’ll do your code reviews for a week,” begged Dinesh. 

“I’ll think about it,” Gilfoyle replied, meeting Jared’s eyes. There was something in them he hadn’t seen before, a flicker of intimacy.

“Think about what could be in it for you, Gilfoyle,” said Jared, and disappeared into the kitchen. 

 

  

“Would you like to talk about what’s happening here?” asked Jared softly. 

Gilfoyle felt bewitched. His skin was sensitive to the slide of the water. He could feel it dragging over the tiny hairs on his arms.

“If you must,” he said. 

Jared came incrementally closer.

“This isn’t about the quid pro quo,” he said quietly. “That’s just a phrase I used to add a sense of drama, to try to help you get over yourselves and agree to a system that would revolutionize our efficiency. Manipulation, essentially.” He looked sheepish. “I do occasionally use techniques that aren’t entirely—that aren’t completely—open.”

“No kidding.” said Gilfoyle. “We all do that, Jared. We’re all fighting dirty to defend our corner.”

“Still. This isn’t,“ he gestured between them, “wouldn’t have been part of a deal, even if we’d made one. I want to make that clear. I’m not using you, or letting you use me, to get what I want. There’s nothing going on here that’s anything to do with Pied Piper. For me, at least.”

As if to prove he wasn’t work-Jared, he blushed, removed an imaginary hat, and spun it away into the night air behind him. 

“I didn’t mind it,” said Gilfoyle. “As a game.”

“You didn’t?” Jared was smiling now. “I'm planning to try to help Dinesh anyway, he’s got so much to offer the right woman. I’d like to see him happy.”

Gilfoyle felt himself slow down and relax, confidence spreading through his body. He stood up further out of the water and stretched his arms along the concrete edges of the pool, letting his body language send Jared a lazy invitation. 

Jared swallowed. Then he cocked his head on one side, serious again. “Are we on the same page?”

“Yes,” said Gilfoyle. “Come closer.”

Jared did. He stopped with a foot still between them. Still serious. 

“Want,” said Gilfoyle. 

Jared looked startled.  


“You said ‘want’.”

“Oh. I did.”

“Jared, do you want me?”  


Jared’s large clear eyes were full and sincere. “Yes.”

The sound of the word flooded Gilfoyle’s limbs with lightness. He yearned to reach for Jared, but he made himself remain still, leaning back against the side of the pool. He waited. 

He could see goosebumps on Jared’s skin, in spite of the heat. He wanted to run his hands over them and smooth them away. 

“Please, come here,” he said. 

Jared took the final half-step, his feet in between Gilfoyle’s now, standing half a head above him, impossibly tall. Gilfoyle found himself taking fast shallow breaths, his mouth inches away from the still-wet skin on Jared’s jaw. Jared brought his arms out of the water to brace his hands on Gilfoyle’s biceps, anchoring them together. 

Jared leaned in until his face was nudging the side of Gilfoyle’s cheek, then pulled away. Gilfoyle raised his head to chase him as if pulled upwards by invisible strings. He moved his hands to Jared’s waist under the water, slowly so that Jared’s hands slid to grip his shoulders.

He felt singed everywhere their skin was touching. He pulled back from Jared’s cheek just far enough to see his eyes were closed. 

His lips were cold on Jared’s, a little shock in the sticky air. He held still for a few moments, barely breathing, then slid his mouth half away, waiting for Jared to catch up. He drew closer till their chests were touching and he could feel the pounding of Jared’s heart. Jared’s whole body was tensed, his hands pressing into Gilfoyle’s shoulders, his eyes tightly shut. 

“Jared?” said Gilfoyle, leaning back to give him some space. “Can you open your eyes?”  


Jared did, and he looked shaken. 

“Are you okay.”

After a moment Jared was nodding vigorously, “I am. I really am.”

Gilfoyle waited. 

“I’m sorry to do so much talking,” Jared said, his body relaxing now there were words between them again. 

Gilfoyle pulled away further to give him a little more air.

“I’m not the guy that fucks,” Jared said, with an edge to his voice. “I hate those words. I’m just an awkward guy who’s passionate about Pied Piper, and Richard’s vision, and your collective talent. And I like women, that’s all, I know how to talk to them without treating them as some weird species.” 

He took a deep breath and moved his hands to cradle Gilfoyle’s head, met his eyes. 

“I’m not the guys that fucks, Gilfoyle,” he said again, insistent. 

Jared’s hands were warm and Gilfoyle’s breath caught in his throat. “I get it,” he said.

Jared leaned in and kissed him, and this time it was a warm shock. Gilfoyle felt hot breath on his cheek as Jared’s hands slid down his chest. “Is this all right?” Jared asked. 

Gilfoyle’s heart was the one pounding now, his head spinning as all his senses focused on the way Jared’s mouth was hovering over his. Finally, finally, Jared stopped being gentle and pressed his weight into Gilfoyle, pressing him back into the wall of the pool. It felt fucking beautiful, Jared’s body flush against his, Jared’s hands everywhere, Jared’s mouth full of words and still so eloquent. Gilfoyle closed his eyes and bright lines of code spooled across his eyelids in the black.


End file.
